Introduction:
Prior to starting this blog I researched successful indie game devs and took note of similarities of the plans they used to reach their success. It’s time to share my plan.
My Learning Plan:
When I started I didn’t have any specific game idea in mind, so instead I focused on choosing a game engine that I felt comfortable with. When I learned that I could code visually using Unreal Engine Blueprints I figured that would be a good place to start, considering I have very little programming knowledge outside of Python.
After choosing the engine I formulated a plan to follow in order reach a point where I am comfortable creating my own game based on my own ideas.
1) Follow 2 to 3 tutorials on how to make complete games. Make sure to finish these tutorials all the way to the end.
2) Create 3 to 5 copy/clones of simple games that already exist, such as Pong, Pac-Man, etc. Also must complete these games, not leave them unfinished.
3) Create a game using my own game idea, but it must be very simple in design and scope (more on this below). As usual, make sure I complete the development of this game.
4) Repeat Step 3, but use game ideas that include different genres. For example: Puzzle game, Real-Time Strategy, First-Person Shooter, etc. Make 3 to 5 games of my own ideas that are super simple
5) Consider starting a larger project from one of my own ideas, something that I can apply my previous experiences to.
One of the skills I want to learn is how to ‘finish’ a game. Starting is easy, finishing appears to be a skill that many indie devs have trouble with. I hope to learn the skill of finishing games early on.
My Game Development Plan:
Now for making my own games I’ve created a plan, also based on information I collected from various successful indie game devs.
1) Write down the basic idea of the game in a Game Design Document. Make sure to keep the game idea extremely simple, less than a handful of mechanics. Start as basic as possible.
2) Create a prototype of the game, a very small portion of the game that doesn’t include fancy graphics, audio, and will likely be missing most of the features, but does have the core gameplay loop.
3) Have friends/family play this prototype, get feedback on the core gameplay loop. Is it fun? Does it have a good ‘hook’?
4) If the basic gameplay isn’t fun then either make changes or start over on a new idea. However, when the core gameplay is fun, move on to the next step.
5) Develop a 15 minute section of the game (or 1 level). A very small gameplay experience that is fully polished to release quality. This may be missing large gameplay features, but that can be added later.
6) Use that polished 15 minutes of gameplay as a demo for places like Steam store page, sending to journalists for reviews, sending to publishers for funding, and making a playable demo for the game to increase followers/wishlists and the overall game’s community.
7) Finish making the rest of the game. Using the initial 15 minutes of game that is done and polished, build the rest of the game up to that standard of quality. Now I can include any missing gameplay elements/features and other items that weren’t included in that initial 15 minute demo.
8) A reminder step to stick with the Game Design Document. Don’t expand beyond the initial scope and reduce the scope if necessary.
My Daily Routine:
I am a Husband, Father of 4, and full-time employed, so my time spent on game-dev is quite limited, generally to the night hours after my family is asleep.
Typically my days include:
1) Morning Routine: Taking care of kitchen/dishes, feeding dog, feeding myself, helping kid’s with school work, and basic family time with Wife and Kids.
2) Daytime Routine: Working for my job. I’m basically full-time work from home, so I spend most of my time at my desk in my chair in front of my computer(s). Although because my Wife and kids are also at home (we homeschool our kids) there are often kids/schooling interruptions throughout my day.
3) Afternoon/Evening Routine: After work I spend some time with the kids, help get dinner table ready, and we always eat dinner together as a family. After dinner we play some more and then get ready for bed/put them to bed.
4) Night Routine: Once the kids are in bed, my Wife and I have a moment to ourselves where we hang out for an hour or two. By this time it’s usually 9:30 to 10pm when my Wife goes to bed.
5) Extended Night Routine: After Wife is in bed then I spend time learning game development. I typically am up until about 1 or 2 am. I do make sure that once I call my game dev time done I try to always play about 30 minutes of a game. “All work and no play…..” Gaming is my outlet for unwinding.
I do have a few rules for game development too.
1) No Zero Days! I always do at least SOMETHING towards game development. Whether it’s writing this blog, following a tutorial to make a game, writing down game ideas, or something. It has to be tangible though, something I create. Watching youtube videos about game dev doesn’t count, for example.
2) Dev Blog Every Day! Every single day I write in this dev blog. Only exceptions are when I’m away from the home overnight.
3) Commit code changes to GitHub/Source Control every day! This one is important for any development. You want to have all your code backed up and tracked!
4) Update my Project Management tasks every day! I am using a combo of GitHub Projects and Trello to track my tasks. I already have a mountain of tasks and things to keep track of between my job and raising kids, etc. Having good Project Management tools is essential for my success and sanity.